By Mark Isherwood

MS for North Wales

With this being my first column of 2024, I wish all readers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

The Senedd was still in recess last week, so my time was taken up attending meetings online and in North Wales, as well as dealing with case work.

I met Governors of Ysgol Pen Coch in Flint, the Primary Special School for Flintshire, to further discuss their welcome and informed proposals for the school to become a formal hub for parent support across Flintshire, to involve education, social services and health.

I also met the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Head of North East Wales Operations to discuss a number of issues, including flooding in Communities affected by October’s Storm Babet, Bats in Building 45 at the Rhydymwyn Valley Works Site (which was at the forefront of nuclear physics before the whole process was moved to America to be developed into the Manhattan Project) and harbour works at Llanerch y mor Dock, near Mostyn.

As Chair of the Senedd Cross-Party Group on Hospice and Palliative Care, I joined our Secretary, who is Hospice UK’s Policy and Advocacy Manager Wales, for a meeting with Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, to discuss their input into both the UK COVID-19 Inquiry and the Wales Covid-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee. This Committee was set up by the Senedd to look at reports at each stage of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry and propose any gaps identified in the preparedness and response of the Welsh Government and other Welsh public bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic that should be subject to further examination.

I also Chaired a meeting of the Cross-Party Group on Deaf Issues, which included an ‘Accessible Information Standard’ update and discussion of the shortage of interpreters in Wales for NHS appointments.

With NHS Wales facing excessive waiting lists and staffing pressures, including 2-year waits at over 25,000, 135 times higher than in England, the head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Wales has said that the current situation is "completely unacceptable" and "things need to change in 2024".

The Labour Welsh Government is still underfunding our Welsh NHS by not providing it with the full uplift for health received from the Conservative UK Government.

Junior Doctors in Wales voted overwhelmingly for strike action in January. The Welsh Government offered them a 5% pay rise, the worst offer in the UK and lower than recommended by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration.

For my help, email Mark.Isherwood@senedd.wales or call 0300 200 7219